Friday 5

1.  Belated Easter pictures:

2.  Audrey told me this week that she loves me more than cheese.  That means a lot, coming from her. :)

3.  I've lost 20 pounds over the last 2 months by not working out and eating lots of potato chips and Oreos.  Figure that one out.  Oh, and I'm nursing.  A baby who likes to eat around the clock.  Perhaps that has something to do with it?  Though it's kind of comforting that my jeans are falling off, I really would like to get more than 3 hours of sleep in a row.  :)  Seriously though, I'll stop complaining.  J-man finally got over a nasty RSV-like virus that had him wheezing all hours of the day and night and practically drowning in snot.  Poor little guy!  Now that he is on the mend he is his normal happy go lucky self, getting into everything, and finally sleeping in a crib in his own room!  He slept his longest stretch EVER last night...from 7 p.m. to 3:45 a.m.  I think it's helping not having him within arms' reach because my response time to his crying is that much slower.  :)  I've found he cries out 3 or 4 times a night that he stops before I get to his room.  What a relief!

4.  Audrey and Norah are roomies!!!  Though it wasn't my plan to put them in together when Justus was born, he's been such a terrible nighttime sleeper that it just worked out best this way.  Bedtimes have been much tricker, but once they finally get to sleep they've both been sleeping great.  And Audrey does a fantastic job of tiptoeing out in the morning without waking Norah, who prefers to sleep late.  I prefer her to sleep late too. :)  There have been many late night giggle fests, which are so fun to listen to, but are definitely catching up to us during the day...I can tell they are tired!  Here's to hoping we all get caught up soon.  And now I need get am going to find time to redecorate.  Win-win. :)

5.  Hmmm....what else is new?  My Physical Therapy license is nearly up for renewal (on my birthday! Just a few weeks away!) so I've been frantically finishing up my 40 hours of continuing education.  My dad and I went to a 2 day course together a few weekends ago, which was fun to do together.  Believe it or not, there was another father-daughter pair attending the same conference together!  It was neat to share the experience with my dad, and put my 'professional' hat on again for a few days.  I know it's good for me to just listen to the medical language for a few hours to remind myself what it was that I went to school for, and exercise those dusty parts of my brain.  :)  Sometimes I'm terrified of the thought of going back to work, since I know I've forgotten so much of the knowledge that I worked so hard to learn during grad school and my first few years of practice.  But then I look at these sweet faces and remind myself that I can never get these years back.  They are worth every sacrifice...career...personal time...and sleep!

So thankful that I get to catch all these little life moments with them:

 First time climbing a tree.

 Late morning sibling snuggles, just because they wanted to.

Pre-and-post-breakfast coloring, in PJs.  A daily routine in our house.

Hoping this Friday finds you working hard to treasure life's little moments!  It's been a battle for me today, but I am fighting for thankfulness.

Friday Quick 5

1.  It has been a crazy week.  But I'm going to attempt to focus on the positives rather than complaining.  I have much to be thankful for!  Tim was out of town for 4 days and 4 long nights, and all 3 kids got sick while he was away.  I am THANKFUL that Tim is now home, helped me man the night shift last night, and I am THANKFUL we have access to modern day medicine.  Our doctor's clinic is just 10 minutes away!  How many people around the world would do anything for that kind of access!  And when Justus' oxygen saturation was down to 88% while breathing at rest, we simply picked up a nebulizer and some medication and headed on home to start treatment.  What a blessing!

2.  The girls have watched so many movies this week that they're starting to get bored with them and asking to do things like paint with watercolors.  Usually it's the other way around...I'll take it!

3.  Even though Mr. J has been super sick this week and barely sleeping a wink, I can't believe how many gross motor milestones he's been meeting.  About 2 weeks ago he started slowly and awkwardly army crawling.  On Tuesday alone this week he started moving from all fours up to sitting, and back down again, advancing his arms while on all fours, pulling up to kneeling, and trying his hardest to pull up to standing at the couch.  When I gave him a little boost he stood there and played with an ear to ear grin for close to 10 minutes.  I caught him chewing on my laptop cord on one end of the living room and 5 minutes later on the other side of the room emptying out the bottom bookshelf.  Let the games begin.  He is SO happy to move!  I am THANKFUL he is making such strides even when he's sick, and I might even be a *teensy-weentsy* bit thankful that this cold is slowing him down.  If he weren't sick he probably would have started walking this week!!  :)  Ha.  JUST KIDDING! I want my babe to be healthy again.  No matter how busy he keeps me!

4.  Just when I was feeling stretched and crazy and like I couldn't possibly do it all this afternoon, (Justus woke up crying just 30 minutes into his afternoon nap, and I hadn't put either of the girls to bed yet,) everything just miraculously fell into place.  Norah asked to go to bed instead of finish her lunch, and promptly fell asleep.  Audrey read herself a book and practically put herself to bed as well!  SO not like them.  They are indeed not feeling well.  And God had a hand in it, I'm sure, as well.  This mama needed a break.

5.  Foster parenting is hard.  Period.  I have so much to say and so much to write about but I fear that I can't figure out how to put it into words, nor do I think I can fully do it justice while maintaining the confidentiality that we must as foster parents.  Suffice it to say, we are learning so much about discipline, grace, unconditional and tough love all rolled up into one.  And it's hard to let go of the fact that we simply cannot cram a lifetime's worth of lessons and training into just 3 short months.  For her or for us!  We are learning and growing so much through this experience; I hope and pray that it refines us and keeps us humble and makes us better parents for Audrey, Norah, and Justus as well.  I can honestly say that every night I collapse into bed and wonder how we're doing all that we're doing right now, and yet each day God is faithful to provide the strength, wisdom, grace, and humor that we need to see the day through.  We make mistakes and He picks up the pieces and brings restoration and healing.  More than anything I am THANKFUL to have the privilege of being a part of this young lady's life.  Say a prayer for M, would you?  She's walking a hard road.

And that's all I have for you this Friday.

To God be the glory.

A Truly Quick Friday 5, I Promise!

1.  The resident teenager decided last Sunday night to give her life to Jesus Christ.  There was much rejoicing!

2.  Justus slept through the night last night for the second time in his life.  There was much rejoicing!  It was bittersweet, however, because another child had me up at 3 a.m. to go potty.  Ah, well.  She's just keeping me sharp.  ;)

3.  At dinner Wednesday night I heard myself say, "Norah, take that out.  We don't put cauliflower between our toes."  I made a mental note to add that to the list of things I never thought I would say as a parent.

4.  At dinner Thursday night I heard Norah say, "Mommy, I just drank all the pea water!"  Again, I made a mental note to add that to the list of things I never thought I would hear as a parent.

5.  Today is Good Friday.  We have been anticipating Easter by opening Resurrection Eggs every day, and I am planning on doing the same rocks-in-the-Easter-baskets-the-night-before tradition that we started last year.  I am excited to celebrate this year more than ever with our newly redeemed foster daughter/sister-in-Christ for the first time ever!!!

He is Risen!

A Belated Friday 5

1. Norah has been starting the majority of her sentences this week with, "But Mommy, the thing is...."

2.  Audrey is convinced there is an invisible monster named "Sneaky" that lives in our house and moves things around while she is sleeping at night.  I have tried and tried and tried some more to convince her that I am Sneaky, and I do indeed pick up the house, put things away, and move some things around at night while she is sleeping.  She DOES. NOT. BELIEVE. ME.  Whenever she discovers something has changed, she gasps, and exclaims, "Sneaky did it!"

3.  Lately I've taken to carrying Justus around in my arms when we're out running errands instead of lugging around his carseat.  The dude is 20 pounds already, so he's quite a load to heft around.  It's funny when he's hungry, because he keeps one protective hand on my chest at all times.  Especially if I approach anyone else, or try to have a conversation.  He grips me tighter, and keeps his hand firmly placed, as if to say, "back off, she's mine!"

4.  Over the past 2 weeks the girls have been working diligently on creating an "alphabet train" in our kitchen.  We basically just took pieces of card stock paper, then drew giant letters on each one and turned the letter into a corresponding picture.  (A for alligator, a for apple, etc.)  We hung them up in a long line around the dining room, and the crowning feature was a hand-drawn engine to begin the chain, and a caboose to end it.  I told the girls when it was all finished we would invite some friends over to have an alphabet party to celebrate its completion.  I could not believe how motivated they were to finish it.  I think Audrey drew and colored at least 10 letters a day.  So last week I finally delivered on my promise, and we had a little gathering over to celebrate the alphabet.  A good time was had by all...except Norah.  About 30 minutes into the party I realized she was missing.  My little introvert was in her bedroom, sitting in her bed with her binky and her blanket.  Not one for crowds.  :)  About 15 minutes later she warmed up to the idea, and bravely ate a cookie on my lap in the dining room.  Then she ventured out to play with the kids.  Funny how different kids can be!

(Notice Norah's not even in this picture?  I hadn't realized she was missing yet.  Bad mama!!!)

The party was such a hit with all the other kids, though, (and moms too, I think!), that I'm considering throwing impromptu little parties more often.  What else could we randomly celebrate?  Numbers?  Flowers?  Elephants?  Maybe on a rainy day we could have a party celebrating worms...we have a few little boy friends who would be all over that.  

5. Both Audrey and Norah started keeping their Pull-Ups dry all night long within the same month.  We had sticker charts going for a looooooong time, hyped it way up, and incentivized the whole thing.  We bought 2 Beta fish.  They lasted about 3 weeks.  They didn't die, but they got "depressed."  Did you know it's possible for fish to get depressed?  Apparently, (reference:  Ask.com), Beta fish need much larger tanks than we have, more tropical greenery, and occasionally live food since they are naturally carnivores.  If these things are not provided, they will start acting lethargic, which is a sign of fish depression.  Ahem.  We weren't willing to spend a fortune upgrading our fish gear, so back to the pet store they went.  By the end of 3 weeks the novelty of having fish had pretty much worn off, so the girls weren't even sad to see them go.  It helped that I offered to let them each choose a new toy as their dry-diaper-at-night reward in place of the fish.  I figured we're saving a gagillion dollars on Pull-Ups, so they deserve it!

"Super duper ooper schmooper" excited when the Amazon package arrived.

Audrey chose.........a new train.

Norah?  A Repunzel dress.  It's the only thing she wanted.

I don't have a photo of her wearing it...because the day after it arrived she started having accidents again.  Wha!?!?!?  So frustrating.   I've been wondering if it's possible to potty train without experiencing any type of regression.  We went through it with Audrey.  Now we're going through it with Norah.  I waited WAY longer to potty train Norah, because I chalked Audrey's trouble up to being so young.  Norah was clearly ready, and fully trained within a week.  During the day, at naps, and all night long, without looking back.  Now suddenly it's like she can't figure out that she needs to go before at least a little starts coming out.  She's still doing fine at night and naps, I think she just gets so busy doing whatever it is she's doing during the day that she gets distracted.  So...the princess dresses are confiscated until she is "drip-free." ;)  I'll post a picture when I can, because she looks quite adorable in that long lavender dress!

There you have it.  It took me all weekend to get this "Friday" 5 up.  Such is the season of life, friends!  Hope your week is off to a great start!

5 on Friday

It has been an eventful week for our family, to say the least.

1.  Last week I returned home from an incredibly restful, fun, encouraging 4-day weekend with 2 friends and Justus at Sally Clarkson's MomHeart conference in Colorado.  I came home refreshed, rebuked, challenged, and with renewed vision for what I needed and wanted to be as a mother.  To my blog-reading friends in Texas and California, she has 2 more conferences coming right up in February that you should definitely check out if you can!  Even if you just had a baby! ;)  You would love it and it was amazing.

2.  It was no small coincidence that less than a week after coming home we got a foster care call for a teen mom.  The exact words they used were, "she just needs to learn how to be a good mom."  Um....hello...that's what I'm trying to learn myself every day!  Bring her on over!  We are definitely still in the 'honeymoon' stage of taking on a new placement, but so far things are going really really well.  She fits into our family more naturally than any other placement we've had so far, and I get a sense that all of our previous placements have really just served to prepare us for this one, each in their own specific way.  She's already opened up to us so much, and thanked us repeatedly for what we are doing for her.  We are praying praying praying that this kind of relationship continues!

3.  Life has been crazy and chaotic since the day I said yes to taking her in.  And she didn't even come to our house until 3 days later.  But every time we do foster care we definitely notice an increase in Satan's attacks on our family.  Which tells us we are doing exactly what we need to be doing.  We've had to be vigilant about our communication in our marriage.  Norah broke her nose on Sunday.  Justus has been waking up every 2-3 hours at night again, for a myriad of reasons.  (Anyone with heavy wetters have any suggestions for me on how to keep him, his jammies, his swaddling blanket, and his pack and play dry at night!?!?!  I've got him in size 4 Huggies overnights, and he still leaks all over EVERYTHING.)  On Tuesday Tim's sister and our brother-in-law and their 5 kids were moving to a new house less than an hour from here, and in a freak accident their moving van caught on fire and they lost nearly every earthly possession that they owned; we are so thankful that no one was hurt.  And on Thursday Tim's dad went in for his 20th heart procedure.  So prayers for our family are coveted, appreciated, and needed.  Only by the grace of God are we handling everything with joy and perseverance right now.  I love that it drives me to my knees.  I've been needing and wanting to do more of that anyway!

4.  Tim turned 32 on Wednesday!  Happy birthday, babe!  The girls and I and Justus decorated his office in the power plant with balloons and a homemade banner while he was at a meeting.  Then he rode the bus home with his balloon bouquet, and couldn't figure out how on earth I arranged to have 3 random strangers wish him happy birthday on the ride home. : )

5.  I'll leave you with a link that has inspired and encouraged me, and left me with a mantra for life in general, but especially my life in regards to making the sacrifices required for doing foster care.  Oh, who needs a link...I'm going to cut and paste it here to make sure you read it, because it is THAT GOOD.  This is why we say 'yes.'  And saying 'yes' to foster care seems like so much less of a sacrifice than what this woman and her family are doing...they are adopting!  Forever!  If they can do that, I can surely say 'yes' to a 5-month-placement.  It's only 5 months!!  Anyway.

"People ask, “how do you do it?”

I’m not ever really sure what they are meaning.

How do we meet everyone’s needs?

How do we still have joy?

How do i remain sane?

I’m not sure.

And I don’t ask.

But as I have thought about it the last few days

and prayed

I realize how we “do it”

and how I hope and pray we continue to “do it”

I think it’s having this mind set:

not, what if we ruin our family

but, THIS IS NOT MY FAMILY TO RUIN

not, what if it’s “too much” and I can’t handle it, what if I’m exhausted and miserable?

but, THIS IS NOT MY LIFE TO HOLD ON TO.

It’s been having the mindset that

THIS IS NOT OUR LIFE TO LIVE.

My life is not something to hold on to

I exist because of Christ, for God and His glory.

I truly feel that to live is to CLING TO CHRIST

and I truly believe that to DIE IS GAIN

I truly believe that this life is so temporary.

I truly believe that God does not involve my family and me in this grand global adoption mission, bringing all nations to Himself through it, because He needs us.

It’s because HE LOVES US!

When my eyes are down I magnify the hardness.  I get knit-picky with my kids, I get worried about if my new girls will ever catch up.  I worry.  I get anxious.  I get scared.  I get this phrase that runs through my head, ” I JUST WANT TO DO LIFE EASY!!!”

It’s a dangerous place for me to stand.

So, I don’t.

Instead I bend low, lower still!

we memorize Philippians 2

and

I tell myself, my friends, my children everyday:

(are you sick of hearing it?)

“THIS IS NOT OUR HOME!  WE ARE NOT HOME YET!”

I cannot want on this earth, in this life

what is only reserved for heaven,

Perfection!

And there you have it.  My life is not my own!  So thankful God is allowing us to be a part of His amazing plan.  It is a joy and a humbling privilege. 

Happy Friday, friends.

Friday 5

1.  Isn't it funny how God immediately gives us opportunities to put lessons that we learn into practice?  Approximately 3 hours after my post on Perspective, we got a call asking if we would take a foster placement.  We had no good reasons to say no.  So we are currently adapting to life with a teenager again.  Hormones, anyone? :)

2.  Since I posted something about my 3-week meal plan, I've had quite a few requests for recipes.  One thing I've been making a LOT this fall is Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash.  I pulled it off the blog of a friend last year.  Here is the unedited, original recipe:

Sausage & Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

This recipe serves 4.

2 large acorn squash (about 1 1/2 lbs. each)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 lb. ground turkey sausage

1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/2 C. Bisquick

1/4 C. packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 T. butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut squash into halves, remove seeds and fibers (a grapefruit spoon works great for this). Place cut sides down on jelly roll pan or cookie sheet sprayed lightly with cooking spray.

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

Cook sausage in a skillet until brown. Drain. Stir in chopped apple.

After squash has baked for 40 minutes, remove from oven and turn squash cut side up on the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fill with sausage/apple mixture.

Mix Bisquick, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apples and sausage. Bake uncovered until squash is tender and topping is brown, about 30 minutes.

Super simple, easy and quick to make!  I have adapted it to suit our gluten and dairy free needs by simply sprinkling brown sugar in the squash before I add the sausage and apples, and then skipping the crumb topping.  Sometimes I mix up one for Norah with gluten-free Bisquick.  And I recently learned about a non-dairy butter substitute that I might just have to find at the store...then I could enjoy it too!  I've found that it cooks best with smaller squash, and then they make the perfect personal serving size.

3.  Justus still sleeps in the swing.  Only in the swing.  As in, every nap and all night long in the swing.  Someday (soon?) we're going to try and transition to the crib.  I do not anticipate it going well.  Did I mention he's the reigning king of 45 minute naps?  The. King.  Even in the swing.  *sigh*  Living by the motto "do whatever it takes" right now.

4.  Norah potty trained like a champ.  She was totally ready.  And is having a blast picking out undies every morning.

5.  It's late and I need to feed the babe one last time before I hit the hay myself.  Feeling rather uninspired and slightly brain-fried right now.  I guess that's where life with toddlers and teenagers leaves me!  Here's to spanning a wide wide gap in parenting years.  Only by the grace of God...

Good night!

Friday 5

1.  Did I tell you that a few weeks ago we finally figured out that Norah isn't lactose intolerant?  We've been trying to figure out for a year why she always seems to have diarrhea.  After Justus was born, it got way worse, and the only thing that had really changed about her diet was a steady increase in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, because this mama didn't have time to make much else.  Well, lo and behold, we cut gluten out of her diet, and within a week she had NORMAL POOP.  And let me just tell you, after a year of changing diarrhea diapers, we have had many small celebrations in this house as we 'get' to change these new, beautiful, so-much-easier-to-clean-up, diapers.  Yeah, we're parents.  It's the little things. :)  So this means 1) no more pb and j for lunch, 2) Norah has been lovin' eating more cheese! and 3) I am embarking on adventures in meal-planning.  Because...

2.  Justus seems to be milk and soy protein intolerant (MSPI.)  So, yeah.  I'm cooking gluten, dairy and soy free...which makes life...interesting.  I think I've finally found about 15 recipes that most everyone in the family can (and will) eat, so I just put together a 3 week menu rotation.  Meal planning has been a bit of a drag, so it will be nice to have a go-to list!

3.  One thing that has saved me precious minutes in the kitchen:

Seriously, one of the best grocery store purchase I think I have ever made.  I am all about cooking from scratch, and using fresh stuff whenever available and practical, but I do not like peeling/chopping/pressing/crushing garlic.  So many methods...none of them I like.  But squeeze garlic?  Yes, please!

4.  Potty boot-camp around these here parts for Norah today!  She's been talking about it for weeks, she's SO excited to wear big girl undies.  The real motivation for starting is Veteran's Day.  Don't see the connection?  Tim's a city employee, which means he has the day off. :)  He also took next Monday off since he's been working 50+ hour weeks for the last 2 months.  4 day weekend with Daddy's extra hands around = doable potty training for this busy nursing mama!  Our method:

• talk talk talk it up!  We've been prepping Norah for months.  Every time she told me she was filling her diaper, I'd tell her "some day soon you're going to wear big girl undies and run to the potty instead!  Then we won't have to change your diaper and you'll get a jelly bean!"  And this week I've been counting down the days..."in 2 days we're going to potty train you!"  Last night at bedtime she smiled super big and told me, "tomorrow we're going to potty train me!"  Yeah!  She's ready.
• cold turkey no diapers; she's wearing training undies (they have extra absorbency so the messes aren't SO bad) and no pants for the first few days.
• block off all available carpet and hang out on the linoleum all day.
• check out a bunch of kids' books and DVDs about the potty from the library.  (Too Big for Diapers featuring Ernie is the biggest book hit so far, and Bear in the Big Blue House has some pretty stellar songs about the potty chair...if you're looking for recommendations!)
• move the potty chair to the kitchen linoleum, and spend a bunch of time just sitting on it.  (reading new library books, watching DVDs, etc.) 
• when she's not sitting on the potty chair, we set a timer for 10 minutes and she goes to sit and try that often. 
• talk up the rewards!  Norah gets a jelly bean for #1, and is SUPER excited to pick out a piece of Halloween candy for #2.  

So far, she's doing awesome.  

5.  I have so many deep thoughts running through my brain on parenting, motherhood, showing grace to both myself and my children, leading them by example, working hard at my job as a homemaker, etc etc etc, but it's overwhelming to me to think about trying to put into words all the work that God is doing in my heart right now.  For now I'll just say that things have been good with Him this week, refining, and encouraging.   All in all (I'm still exhausted!) but I've had a really good week this week.  I feel like we are settling into a new normal, and I'm figuring out how to juggle 3 kids without feeling like I'm spinning my wheels or barely keeping my head above water.  And that in and of itself is no small miracle.  So far the post-partum blues have been for the most part kept at bay, which I attribute primarily to the prayers of dear friends and family who know the hard times I've had with post-partum depression after my first 2 kids.  SO thankful for those prayers!  Please keep them coming.  And secondarily to simply having more realistic expectations this time around, and a stronger support network than ever before.  So all that rambling to say, maybe I'll carve out some time this week to share a few deeper thoughts.  But don't hold your breath.  We are potty training after all...

6.  Because I'm feeling generous today, I'll give you a #6.  Well, not really generous, just mildly guilty for not doing any milestone blog posts on the little man.  Justus turned 3 months old yesterday.  Can't believe it!  He was around the 95th% for everything at his 2 month appointment, and hasn't seemed to slow down at all.  Here's a smile to melt your heart for the weekend:

Love this guy!

Friday 5

I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am not good at doing the Friday Quick 5 regularly, and I am downright terrible at actually keeping it "Quick."  So I'm dropping the "quick" and going with the Friday 5.  Because let's be honest, I'm home with 3 small children and don't get much adult interaction throughout the week, so consider this one of the lengthiest "conversations" I'll have with an actual grown-up this week.  And it will really feel like a conversation if you leave a comment and let me know you heard me. :)  Thanks.  I promise to keep this week's Friday 5 both random and fun.

1.  After 3 pregnancies in 4 years, I am finally coming to terms with the fact that the hormones have officially done a number on my hair.  It is no longer stick straight, and in fact, has quite a bit of curl!  This morning I decided to stop fighting it and to embrace the curls.  We shall see how this goes.

2.  If I'm really being honest, when we bought our house and I saw the hand held shower head in the main bathroom, all I thought was, "that thing's kind of ugly." But now, having had it for almost 4 years, I would venture to say that I plan on installing one in whatever house we end up with in the future.  I love it!  It makes cleaning the bathtub so much easier.  (When I actually get around to cleaning the tub, which, in reality, is not all that often.)  And it makes rinsing shampoo out of the girls hair so much easier.  It just makes so much sense.  That's all.

3.  Lately I've been struck with a new daily mantra, "Do it now."  Ever heard the phrase "why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?"  That has become my philosophy to successfully managing our house. Why throw those socks on the floor when I can put them away now?  Why leave the dishes on the counter when I can wash them up now?  Seriously, if I have the time, it is SO much easier to just get it done now.  And I was struck with the realization last week that my attitude should be the same way in training my children. "Why put off tomorrow what you can teach today?"  Yes, it would be easier to just take away the fought-over toy, or set a timer and make them take turns, without really dealing with the heart of the issue.  Yes, it takes way more time to stop the girls from their spats and talk through how #1 could have asked nicely instead of grabbing and how #2 should have responded with manners and a polite request instead of screaming, and then making them re-do the whole scenario, and then praying together for God to take selfishness and anger out of our hearts and help us to be thankful and loving towards one another, and yes it seems like that's all we do ALL DAY LONG...but if I take the time to do it now, hopefully they will GET IT before they are teenagers...and just like it's so much more work to do all the day's dishes at 10 p.m. rather than in little bits throughout the day, it would be SO MUCH MORE WORK to try and teach these heart lessons when they are 13 and 15, rather than in these little bits during their little years. And maybe they'll learn to communicate well with one another and become best friends along the way.  That is my hope and prayer.  And even after 1 week of taking painstaking time to work through some specific things with them, we are starting to see bits and pieces of fruit.  I have never seen them play so well together as they did yesterday morning.  Granted, they were both incredibly well-rested, and that makes such a huge difference, but I'm still taking such joy in seeing some fruit!

"Mommy, will you swaddle us up together like Baby Justus and then we can roll around and try to get out?"  They are so funny sometimes!

4.  Two of my nearest and dearest friends emailed me last night and proposed a road trip to Sally Clarkson's MomHeart conference this winter and I could not be more excited.  I loved her book The Mission of Motherhood, and I just started The Ministry of Motherhood, which looks to be just as good as the first one.  The theme of her conference this year is "The Heartshaping Mom ~ How to Open, Fill, and Hold Your Child's Heart," which sounds like exactly what I need right now.  Not to mention 16+ hours in a car chatting it up with great friends.  I'm already refreshed just thinking about it, and really hoping we can make it work!

5.  Click this link to see our family pictures sneak peek.  I'm looking forward to seeing the rest!

And for those grandparents who need their baby fix, I'll leave you with this cute guy.  Happy Friday.

Friday 5

Those of you with multiple small children who keep up the Friday Quick 5 religiously, my hat is off to you.  No idea how you do it.  Clearly I have not maintained this weekly blogging ritual since Justus was born.  It seems most days I'm just trying to keep my head above water:  children alive, fed, dressed, occasionally even bathed.  In my free time I do the dishes and take a shower myself.  Repeat cycle.

Anyhoo, in a rare instance of the baby sleeping in until 10:45 this morning (can I get a hip-hip-hooray!?) I found a few spare moments to update the ol' blog.

1.  I am daily amazed at how taking care of 2 children now sounds so easy to me.  Three months ago I thought I was so busy, and that juggling a 2 and 4 year old was hard.  Add one baby and suddenly I have this glorious gift of PERSPECTIVE.  It is so refreshing having done this newborn stage twice before, with two very different babies.  The things that made me flip out with numero uno are no big deal now.  I know it will eventually pass, (whatever "it" may be at any given moment,) and in the grand scheme of things this truly is such a short moment in time.  I have so much more I could say about this topic...but I'll save that for a post of it's own.

2.  I considered writing a whole blog post on "things I could get done if my baby slept until 10:45 every day."  Or "things I could get done if all 3 of my children slept past 7:00 everyday."  (Yes, that happened too today.  AMAZING!!)  It would include things like, "make eggs for breakfast, carve a pumpkin with the kids, do watercolors, get down on the floor and play dolls with Norah, make 4 batches of granola, do the breakfast dishes, get 2/3 of the kids dressed before noon, finish sewing a butterfly costume, send a few emails, do my abdominal correction exercises..."  but then I realized that "take a shower" and "brush my teeth" didn't make the list, so I figured it wasn't worth blogging about.  Because in reality...we moms all know that one sure way to wake a sleeping baby is to get in the shower.  How do they know?!?  So here I sit, in my own stink, blogging instead of showering, because Justus is napping again.  :)

3.  I really like Pinterest.  A lot.  When I first signed up, I was afraid I would pin a bunch of stuff that I liked, just for kicks, but not really do anything with it.  But I've been pleasantly surprised at how practical a lot of it has been!  So far I have cooked this and made these twice, they were so good!  And the girls and I made these cute little guys one afternoon too.  I have hot glue gun blisters to prove it!  Audrey's halloween costume was inspired by this photo and I came dangerously close to ordering this costume for Justus.  Oh my adorable.  Thankfully my rational (money-wise) husband lovingly suggested that I could craft something on my own.  So instead of splurging, I made a caterpillar costume for Norah, and Justus will be riding along on beggar's night in my brown Moby wrap as "a cocoon."  Bada-bing, no extra work or $$ for that one!  Oh...and we had family photos done by a friend of mine last weekend, and I requested a shot like this one that I fell in love with on Pinterest.  She complied.  I can't wait to see how it turned out!  So yeah...pinterest...if you haven't yet, check it out!  So much more fun than facebook.

4.  A few months ago I mentioned that I was starting up a book club.  I am pleased to report that it is up and running and has been SO good!  So far as a group we have read Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp, Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Radical by David Platt, Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and Disciplines of a Godly Family by Kent and Barbara Hughes.  I can easily recommend each and every one.  Discussing them with friends has been an added bonus!  On the side I've also recently read Loving the Little Years, Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic, and it was SO good I'm planning on reading it again very soon.  If you are a mom with small children it is a must read!  So encouraging and so practical.

And right now I'm working on some fiction, Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  The verdict is still out on this one.  It was recommended by a Christian blogger that I admire and respect who lives in Haiti, as a book that is eye-opening to the plight of refugees.  I haven't gotten to the plot's "pivotal point" yet, so I don't feel like I can really describe it yet.  If you're curious about it, one review I found states:  "The publishers of Chris Cleave's new novel "don't want to spoil" the story by revealing too much about it, and there's good reason not to tell too much about the plot's pivot point. All you should know going in to Little Bee is that what happens on the beach is brutal, and that it braids the fates of a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan (who calls herself Little Bee) and a well-off British couple--journalists trying to repair their strained marriage with a free holiday--who should have stayed behind their resort's walls. The tide of that event carries Little Bee back to their world, which she claims she couldn't explain to the girls from her village because they'd have no context for its abundance and calm. But she shows us the infinite rifts in a globalized world, where any distance can be crossed in a day--with the right papers--and "no one likes each other, but everyone likes U2." Where you have to give up the safety you'd assumed as your birthright if you decide to save the girl gazing at you through razor wire, left to the wolves of a failing state. --Mari Malcolm"


Next up on the book club list is Treasuring God in Our Traditions, by Noel Piper.  Can't wait for this one!  I've wanted to read her book for awhile, and the timing will be perfect right before the holidays.  After that, I'm hoping we'll read a classic.  Or a biography.  Any recommendations?

5.  And speaking of READING...

So proud of this girl.  She's picking so much up with barely any effort on my part!

I'll leave you on that happy note.  It's Friday!  Enjoy some extra time with the fam this weekend, I know I sure will!

Friday Quick 5

1.  Our little (big?) man was one week old yesterday.  My, how time flies!  He was already back up to his birth weight by Tuesday.  Yes, he knows how to eat.  

So far Justus fits the bill for 'sleepy baby,' and I am loving it!  We haven't really had a sleepy baby in this house yet, so it is quite refreshing.  I think yesterday he had his most alert/awake day ever, which translated into 3 separate periods of 1 hour of open eyes.  He likes to eat every 2.5 to 3 hours around the clock, but as long as I get to bed on time I'm totally okay with that.  In the middle of the night he eats, gets his diaper changed, I try to feed him a little bit more (for my own comfort!) but he's usually so cashed out that he won't hardly open his mouth.  So we all go back to sleep.  Repeat cycle.

2.  The girls are adjusting very well to the change in pace.  Thankfully Tim has been off work most of this week, so I have had lots of help corralling them.  They adore Baby Justus, love to hold him and give him kisses, make silly faces at him to see if they can get him to smile, and Norah especially is quite distraught whenever he cries.  Thankfully this happens very little.

"Peek-a-boo baby Justus!"

Sometimes the only word to define these girls is squirrelly. 

Norah simply adores him.  The running dialogue out of her mouth when she's holding him goes something like this, "wook!  He has 2 eyes!  And he has a nose!  And a mouth!  Wook!  He's moving his hands!  He's trying to eat his jammies!  His eyes are open!  Does he have toes?  Can I see his toes?  Can I kiss his toes?"  And on.....and on.....and on.....  Her favorite feature of all, though, unfortunately just fell off.  All week long she's been asking "May I see his umbilican cord, please?"

 

3.  I am feeling surprisingly well-rested (many thanks to my husband for letting me stay in bed until 8 or 9 most mornings this week!) I get worn out pretty quickly anytime I try to do too much, though, due to my complication of post-partum hemorrhage.  This is the second time I've gone through it, so it helps knowing not to expect too much of myself.  For now I'll take my iron supplements and patiently wait for my hemoglobin counts to come back up.  It will be nice to have some energy again!  Thanks to all who prayed for a safe labor and delivery...God definitely had His hand on me, as I narrowly avoided an emergency D & C to stop the bleeding.  I have also been surprisingly un-emotional this time around, and am thanking the good Lord for stable hormones!  Praying this continues, too.  ;)  Post-partum depression and I are unfortunately not strangers, and I sure would like to avoid getting re-acquainted this time around.  So far we are all keeping our sense of humor and in general just enjoying one another.

Oh, Justus, you have no idea what kind of family you've been born into...

Audrey kept saying, "let's take a kissing picture!" 

And then these silly girls wouldn't stop kissing each other!  So fun, these moments when they get along. ;)

4.  One of Audrey's favorite things about getting less attention around these parts is the newfound freedom of dressing herself.  This is what she chose to come and visit me in the hospital one morning; I think the theme was "flowers"...

  

And Norah has enjoyed the status of "big sister."  Can't you just see the pride in her eyes?

She loves to help me take care of "Baby Justus."  She asked if she could change his diaper yesterday.  I told her she could help me open it.  She proudly took the diaper and pulled open both the tabs, declaring "I can open it all by myself, because I'm REAWY strong!"  Wherever she is in the house, if she hears Justus sneeze, she is the first one to say "bwess you, baby Justus!" each and every time.  That will never get old.

5.  Last but not least I want to share with you a link to an excellent article that perfectly fits the bill for this season of life I find myself in.  Thanks to my friend Sheryl for posting it on Facebook!  It's called Motherhood is Application.  One of my (many) favorite quotes from the article:

The gospel is not just something to talk about Sunday morning while you are in clean clothes and the kids are looking orderly. It is not limited to quiet times and reflective moods. It is something to apply while you are in a difficult position in the back of the car trying to buckle a child up who is playing the kazoo and needs their nose wiped.

God is not above these moments. He is teaching us, and leading us, and refining us, in them. He wants to see our faith in action. He wants to see us feeding our children with the grace that he has given to us.

If you are a mother with small children, I highly recommend taking 5 minutes to read this!

Happy Friday from our family to yours!